Peoria, Ill.: The Thunderbolts held in very well against the Rivermen in the unfriendly Peoria Civic Center on Friday night, rallying yet again to tie the game in the third period, before falling victim to a last-second goal off a faceoff, as the Rivermen beat the buzzer to defeat Evansville in regulation, 2-1. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, February 25th  against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT. For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.
After a scoreless first period which featured a fight between Matthew Hobbs and Peoria’s Alexandre Carrier only 5 seconds in, Zach Wilkie gave the Rivermen a 1-0 lead immediately after a Peoria power play at 1:56 of the second period. Evansville rallied back as they have done so often in recent weeks, as James Isaacs tied the game back up at 7:34 of the third period, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Kyle Thacker. However, it was a literal last-second goal from Jordan Ernst that sunk the Thunderbolts in regulation, denying the minimum point that would have come out of overtime. It was a tough pill to swallow, but will provide great motivation to bounce back tomorrow and going forward, as these two teams meet again on Saturday night back in Evansville, in the second of four games in a row that these teams will battle one-another.
Isaacs scored the lone Evansville goal, while Trevor Gorsuch finished with 32 saves on 34 shots faced. Â The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Saturday, February 25th at Ford Center.
